The Sampson Stones The Sampson Stones

The Sampson Stones
An article composed by Rob Gregg, June 2009
and updated December 2011
At Vine Lake Cemetery in Medfield, Massachusetts, there are two almost
identical stones, each with a perforation (Section 4, Grave 334). There are no
other stones similar to these in the cemetery.
Located in the center of the Colonial graveyard, these stones are positioned on an
east-west axis. Their composition is quartzite, a material not native to Medfield.
The sizes in inches are: west stone (13 wide, 12 high, 2½ thick); east stone (13
wide, 11½ tall, 1 thick). The diameter of each perforation is roughly 1½ to 2
inches. Measurement between the two stones is 72 inches. On the north side of
each stone, a shoulder appears to be cut, while the south side is not shaped as
distinctly.
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The first mention of these stones appears in a “Sermon preached in Medfield, 5th
January 1817, near the 166th Anniversary of the Incorporation of the Town” by Daniel
Clarke Saunders, D.D., Pastor of the Congregational Church in Medfield
(Dedham: Abel D. Alleyn, Printer, 1817). On page 16 Sanders states: “There is
but one place for the burying of the dead. The land was given by Joseph Metcalf.
The first person laid in it, as tradition relates, was one Sampson, and the stones,
near the centre of the yeard [sic], erected over his grave are distinguished by
being each perforated.” (Saunders may have been mistaken about which Metcalf
gave the land for the burying grounds. John Metcalf [born 1622 in England]
removed to Medfield from Dedham about 1652; his son Joseph inherited the “the
home place near the cemetery” after his father’s death in 1690. The donor, in all
likelihood was John and not Joseph.) Since we know the date of John Metcalf’s
arrival in Medfield (History of the Town of Medfield 1650-1888, edited by William S.
Tilden, George H. Ellis, Boston 1887, page 436-7), the Sampson stones can be
dated no earlier than 1652.
The next mention of the stones appears in 1899 when a Catalog of Inscriptions was
composed by five Medfield citizens. On page 68 it states “(Headstone and
footstone with round holes, but no inscription legible. Said by some to be grave
of Samuel Morse).” The cause for this assumption may have been the towering
presence of the Morse Monument (erected in 1854) located two feet immediately
south of the perforated stones. In addition, there are two Morse gravestones,
crudely carved, on the other side of the monument. Samuel Morse was a person
of some import in Medfield, his house having been burned to the ground during
the attack by King Philip’s warriors on 21 February 1676. An unsubstantiated
argument could be made, based solely on geographical proximity, that the
unmarked and undated perforated stones are those of Samuel Morse who died in
1718. This assumption has never been proved or disproved by the Morse Society
or family researchers.
A third mention of the stones is made in Medfield, Massachusetts Proceedings at the
Celebration of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Incorporation of the
Town, June 6, 1901, page 69. A photograph of the west stone is titled ‘First
Headstone Erected, 1654.’ No name is attached to this stone.
Last, in 1986 a Catalog of Graves was compiled by the Medfield Historical
Commission. It states: “Grave no. 334 (headstone and footstone have no
marking, only a large hole through the center of each; possibly the grave of
Samuel Morse.” (page 8)
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In January 2008 I began the compilation of a New Catalog of Graves and Inscriptions
in the Old Section of Medfield’s Vine Lake Cemetery. It was during this project that
new attention was focused on the untitled, undated, perforated stones.
The stones’ composition was identified by John Thompson, a geologist and
archeologist residing in Medfield.
On 23 November 2008, while I was exploring the Old Section with John and
another Medfield historical researcher, Cheryl O’Malley, a discovery was made
thanks in great part to the angle of the setting sun. Faintly and crudely scratched
above the perforation on the west stone was “1667.” This date cannot be read
unless the right light is present.
In addition to the date, a crude inscription could be read on the left side of the
stone below the perforation. In the first line was inscribed “SAMP” and below it
on a second line in smaller and fainter letters was “SON.” This inscription now
confirms Sander’s remarks in 1817 that these stones are those of one named
Sampson; however, the 1654 date in Proceedings is disproved.
Thus, the first two steps have been completed, by identifying the name of the
person buried (Sampson) and the burial date (1667). Numerous and intriguing
questions remain.
Why are there two perforated stones rather than one? Who was Sampson?
In Cautantowwit’s House (Brown University Press, Providence, 1970, pages 126-7)
William Scranton Simmons itemizes an Indian burial site where a perforated slab
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of slate was found, eerily similar to Sampson’s. He further refers to a drilled slab
associated with Indian graves in Connecticut. Simmons cites another reference
(page 127): “The Iroquois to the north often made an ‘opening through solid
materials to allow souls to pass.’”
It appears then that in cases of Native American burials, one perforated stone is
used. The uniformity of this practice remains to be seen.
Another practice needs to be examined in which two perforated holes were used.
According to Peter Benes (The Masks of Orthodoxy, University of Massachusetts
Press, Amherst, 1977, page 38), the earliest New England gravemarkers “were
made out of wood, not stone, and probably resembled signboards or sections of
fencing.” Following the English custom, graves were marked with “coffin posts
or rails.” These were formed by placing a log or squared beam “upright into the
earth at each end of the coffin” and joining these with one, sometimes two,
connecting rails, the whole resembling a section of fencing. The rails may have
been painted or carved. Not one of these rails exists today, but there are
descriptions of them in early letters and probate records.
In the case of Sampson, two stones were used instead of two logs or beams and
perforations were made for the rails. Is this principle identical to the English
custom even though the material was different?
If the case is made that Sampson was buried using an English custom, then his
identity leans in the direction of being an immigrant who resided in Medfield at
the time of his death. Thus, the persons who buried him had to be
knowledgeable of his background and the prevailing custom, but with these
questions: why stone and not wood, and why perforations for the rails and not
ties?
Who was Sampson?
Two possibilities come to mind. One is that he was an African-American. In his
1817 sermon Saunders states “A large number of weavers were among the first
settlers in the town. Slaves were common and numerous.” (page 26) Three
deaths are listed as “Negroes, etc.” in the Vital Records of Medfield, Massachusetts to
the Year 1850, page 243. In each record, the deceased Negroe only has a given
name, which is identical to Sampson having just a given name. In contrast, of the
almost two thousand persons buried in the Old Section, every one has a given
and surname except for Sampson.
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He might have been a slave of a distinguished and early citizen, and his
prominent burial location in the middle of the colonial section certainly gives
weight to such a consideration. No other references to a Sampson in early
Medfield and area resources point to a person by that name. Further research
into journals of early citizens may give reference to Sampson’s place in a family,
if indeed he was a slave.
Sampson’s North American Indian connection can be strengthened by the
presence of the Praying Indian community in South Natick, a mere four miles
northeast of Medfield. An initial email message was sent (26 November 2008) to
Jennifer Hance, Executive Director of the Natick Historical Society; her reply (3
December 2008) was that no Sampson is mentioned in any historical records of
that community although that does not rule out his connection.
However, the perforated stones are the strongest indicators yet as to Sampson’s
Native American heritage. No other gravestone in the Medfield burying ground
comes the least bit close to resembling his. Observation must also be given to
gravestones extant from the early years of Medfield: most all of them are slate.
Furthermore, the funerary practices of the early families point to gravestones that
were shaped in traditional rectangular or semicircular tops. All legible
inscriptions reveal either Puritan or Protestant attitudes towards death.
Sampson’s stones were clearly erected by persons familiar with a culture
different from the predominant one in Medfield during the 1660’s, simply
because his stones are noticeably different from all others. These perforated
stones, unique to the Medfield cemetery but perhaps not to others, and their
documented association with Indian tribes, enforce a compelling argument that
Sampson was a Native American, although his connection to a Medfield family
cannot be determined…yet. In fact he could have been living by himself or with
a group of Indians. Regardless of his race, Sampson’s burial location in the
middle of the colonial burying ground may demonstrate his link to an influential
family.
A most intriguing possibility in identifying Samson’s Indian connection is to
excavate his burial site. Simmon’s well-documented book describes how such
undertakings were made in Jamestown, Rhode Island to identify a Native
American population being buried there in the same period that Sampson lived.
Such an excavation might prove or disprove his Native American identity by
examining Sampson’s burial posture and the presence of grave goods.
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An Intriguing Idea
The Association of Gravestone Studies published this article in its AGS Quarterly,
Volume 33 Number 3 in the Summer 2009. One reader replied with an intriguing
idea. She opined that “they were burials of an Indian called ‘Samp’ and his son.
Samp is a word of Algonquian origin (Oxford English Dictionary: Nasamp, 1643)
meaning coarsely ground corn; hominy, a porridge made from it…’Samp’ may
have been shortened from an Indian name which no one knew how to spell
(syllables were regularly dropped from long Indian names), and ‘son’ etched
below and smaller because he was young and his name was unknown. Or
possible ‘Samp’ was a title given this Indian because he traded ground corn or
grew the primary supply.”
Some credibility could be given to that fact that two persons are buried here,
given the fact that the first line of the inscription “SAMP” certainly has enough
room to its right to include the word “SON.” Instead the names appear on two
lines.
The replier adds: “Indian corn was so valuable at the same time that there was a
bounty paid for killing blackbirds in Medfield. The Town Report of 1677, the
same year Samp died, says that Henry Smith was paid for ‘killing 15 dozen
blackbirds.’ Incidentally, Indian children were assigned the task of scaring
blackbirds out of the corn.”
Thus, following this reader’s line of thinking, Samp and his son, two Native
Americans, are interred beneath these two stones.
The Scholars Respond
I did contact Peter Benes (17 June 2009), asking his insights into the Sampson
Stones. In a phone conversation, he stated that he had never seen memorials
such as these.
Likewise, a letter (5 April 2010) to Allen I. Ludwig, author of Graven Images, New
England Stonecarving and Its Symbols, 1650-1815, Wesleyan University Press,
Middletown, CT, 1966) resulted in a telephone conversation with me. Ludwig
stated that, having toured many graveyards throughout the world, he had never
seen two stones like these. He was perplexed as to their meaning, offering valid
reasons to catalog them as English (a wooden rail supported from the two
perforations) or Native American (the two perforations allowing the spirits to be
released to the next life.)
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Vincent Luti, preeminent scholar of southeastern Massachusetts gravestones and
carvers, remarked in 20 December 2011 phone conversation that he too had never
seen memorials like these. He suggested using ground-penetrating radar as
another research step to identify whether the remains were buried horizontally
(reflecting a Christian tradition) or vertically (indicating perhaps a person of
another religious persuasion).
Further Research
My next step is to research probate records or manuscripts of key Medfield
citizens who died after 1677. Perhaps references will be made to Sampson or
Samp; however, this buried person or persons would have predeceased that
citizen and for that reason no mention of him might have been made.
Contact:
Rob Gregg
52 South Street, Medfield, MA 02052-2616
Telephone 508 359 9570 cell 508 505 7742
Email gregg.rob@verizon.net
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